Browsing All Posts filed under »MediaSTALK«

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The world’s first African American to win an Oscar pens a letter to Whoopi Goldberg By Hattie McDaniel Dear Whoopi, I was hanging out in Heaven yesterday, eating some candy hearts for Valentine’s Day, when someone passed along a link to you complaining on “The View” (or as we call it up here, “The Bitching […]

ArtSTALK: Continuing to complain during award shows so you’re not alone We’re back folks. The ArtSTALK staff is back to snark on celebrities tonight, only this time the musically inclined are in our sights. Beginning today at 7 p.m., Managing Editor Meryn Fluker will live blog/live Tweet the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, which will be […]

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but the implications of a woman singing about S&M excite me. By Lauren Sieben Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Rihanna’s “S&M,” I’ve learned something valuable: It’s totally OK for women to make sexual music, as long as our sexuality doesn’t venture into the “extreme.” The ball gag-, whip-, chain- […]

For a 16-year-old cable property once best known for airing “Battlestar Galactica” and reruns of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Syfy has taken significant strides in the past few years to distance itself from its fanboys-only viewer base in hopes of reaching a broader audience. Although the network was one of NBCUniversal’s most reliable entities, ranking fifteenth among basic cable channels in adults 18-49 and eighth in adults 25-54, Syfy President Dave Howe saw the original “Sci Fi” moniker as a hindrance to future expansion (indeed, when most basic cablers saw ratings growth in 2009, the science fiction network had basically none). Viewers may have initially ridiculed the network’s decision in 2009 to rebrand the Sci Fi Channel as the phonetically identical “Syfy,” but the effort has ushered in a successful programming and publicity metamorphosis. Armed with the tagline “Imagine Greater,” Syfy has not only expanded the range of its science fiction offerings (it now includes fantasy, horror, paranormal, supernatural, mystery and action/adventure under its genre umbrella, as well as new original scripted and reality-based shows), it’s building its reputation as Syfy Ventures, a business portfolio that includes five consumer sub-brands: Syfy Games, Syfy Films, Syfy Kids, Syfy Gear and Syfy Digital. In essence, if all goes according to Howe’s rebranding plan, the nerd of cable’s high school could soon become its most popular student.

There's little question that "Glee," coming off a surprising (and undeserved) second Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical, is one of the hottest shows on TV (and certainly on Fox), so it would make sense to slide it in after TV's biggest sporting event. However, the show's subject matter and audience are in many ways antithetical to those of the Super Bowl. After all, "Glee"'s two breakout stars are openly gay actors Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer, the latter of whom plays a gay character on the show who is frequently bullied because of his sexuality. In case you've been living under a rock in a very red state, "Glee" focuses on the day-to-day dramas of a high school show choir. The show is geared toward teens and does a great deal of speechifying about acceptance and tolerance. These touchy feely messages, on a show where the football players are often demonized as testosterone-crazed bullies, doesn't exactly scream "Super Bowl Synergy." But there "Glee" was, in all its singing and dancing glory, moments after yet another Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory. Sunday night's episode wasn't particularly strong or even star-packed (though I appreciated the completely out-of-place Katie Couric cameo), but it tackled the issue of bullying head on. Within the first five minutes, self-absorbed diva Rachel Berry insulted pigskin star Dave Karofsky as a "known homophobe" before protesting his joining of the glee club. Without going too far into the backstory, Karofsky has tormented many of the members of the show choir, none more than Colfer's Kurt Hummel, who Karofsky targets due to his homophobia.

There I was, splitting my attention between Facebook and an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 available on Netflix instant play, when this story broke – apparently, the zodiac signs we've used for centuries to guide our lives are actually wrong. Links to the story began sprouting up on my Facebook newsfeed and my Twitter feed, accompanied with comments ranging from mild bemusement, to mock surprise, to “OMG THIS IS BULLSHIT I’M SERIOUSLY A LEO.” My reaction? I need smarter friends.